.get body bags to evacuate us if you do
it is not true, we are not under any pressure to announce APC as winner – INEC

By Peter Duru, Makurdi

National President of Benue Youths Forum, Comrade Terrence Kuanum has raised the alarm that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, was under intense pressure from high quarters to subvert the coming Benue state governorship rerun election in favour of the APC warning that any external interference to skew the process would be resisted by Benue youths.

He also advised those plotting to compel the Benue state Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, to announce APC as winner of the poll against the wishes of majority of the people of the state, to also make available body bags to evacuate Benue youths who are prepared to die for a course they believe in.

Comrade Kuanum who spoke yesterday in Makurdi said Benue youths have it on good authority that the Benue state REC, Dr. Nentawe Yilwatda had allegedly come under intense pressure from the APC to subvert the rerun election in Benue state and announce the APC candidate as winner.

Officials count votes in front of voters

“The plan is for INEC to announce the APC candidate winner of the election while PDP heads to the tribunal to seek Justice which will not be served.

“The APC and its co-travelers are pressuring INEC to destroy Benue state for their own greed even when it is obvious that the rerun in Benue is nothing but an academic exercise because Governor Samuel Ortom has a lead margin of over 80,000 votes.

“Moreover, we also have it on record that in the 179 Polling Units where elections were cancelled which are known PDP strongholds, with registered voters strength of 121,019, not more than 70,000 of the electorates have Permanent Voters’s Cards, PVCs, even at that, there is no way voter turnout in these places can hit 40 percent.

“Benue youths have said and we will reiterate that nobody would impose a Governor on us, we will freely choose our Governor and he is the one who has continued to stand in defense of the people and that is why we came out en masse a week ago to vote him to show gratitude and we will do it again on March 23.”

When contacted, the INEC Head of Voter Education and Publicity in Benue State, Mr. Emma Okpe said “it is not true that we are under pressure to announce anybody winner of the March 23 rerun, these are mere rumours in the town.”